Effect of seaweed extract on rice (Oryza sativa var. ADT53) productivity and soil fertility in Cauvery delta zone of Tamil Nadu, India

The monocropping of rice in the Deltaic zone deteriorates soil health and crop productivity. Seaweeds are marine resources easily available at negligible cost and also rich in bioactive compounds. A field experiment was conducted at Cauvery Delta zone of Tamil Nadu during summer season2021 to evaluate the bio-efficacy of Seaweed extract on growth, yield, and soil properties of rice, Oryza sativa var. ADT53. The experiment was framed in RBD comprising of 12 treatments viz., soil application of Seaweed extract(SWE) @ 12.5kg/ha,25kg/ha, 37.5kg/ha , foliar spraying of SWE gel & liquid @ 0.5% twice at tillering and panicle initiation stages, a combination of soil application and foliar spray and fertilizer alone. Experimental findings revealed that the soil application of SWE  @ 12.5kg/ha along with a foliar spray of seaweed liquid recorded higher plant height (121.1cm),dry matter production (11390kg/ha),yield attributes viz., number of grains per panicle (166), panicle length (21.8 cm), thousand grain weight (14.7g), number of productive tillers per m2 (275), grain yield (5612 kg/ha)and straw yield (7829 kg/ha). However, The soil application of SWE @ 25kg/ha recorded higher soil available nutrients viz.,N(260 kg/ha);P(42kg/ha); K(170kg/ha);Ca(27.7meq/100g); Mg(5.5meq/100g);S(18.2mg/kg);Zn (1.17ppm); Fe (33.82ppm); Cu(1.61ppm);Mn(18.97ppm).The study will help sustain rice productivity and soil fertility in the deltaic zone of Tamil Nadu. The soil application of seaweed extract @ 12.5kg/ha along with foliar spraying (0.5% twice) could be a promising option in the rice ecosystem

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHNOMEDICINALLY USED MEDICINAL PLANTS BY THE TRADITIONAL HEALERS OF THIRUVALLUR DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, INDIA

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to collect information about medicinal plants and their uses, by the knowledge obtained from the traditional healers in Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu, India. It also determines antimicrobial activity of ten different plants selected based on spearman rank correlation. The traditional healers of Thiruvallur district use different species of medicinal plants belonging to different families for the treatment of various diseases. Commonly maximum number of species has been used for fever followed by skin infection, wound healing and antiseptic. Herbs were found to be the most used plants followed by climbers and shrubs. The spearman rank correlation was used to analayse the knowledge about medicinal plants. Antibacterial activity of ten medicinal plants (Justicia gendarussa, Tephrosia purpurea, Phyllanthus maderaspatensis, Elephantopus scaber, Trichodesma indicum, Rhinacanthus nasatus, Sida cordifolia, Lepidagathis cristata, Evolvulus nummularius and Aerva lanata)  was determined by measuring the diameter of zone of inhibition that is the mean of triplicates+standard deviation of three replicates. The traditional healers in Thiruvallur district possess rich ethno-botanical knowledge. This study on medicinal plants will attract ethano botanist, phytochemist and pharmacologist in identifying novel antibacterial compounds. Keywords: Antibacterial; Medicinal plants; Traditional Medicin

Texture Evolution during Thermal Processing of Ti-6Al-4V: A Neutron Diffraction Study

This paper reports results of phase transformation experiments in the α/β alloy Ti-6Al-4V from α→β→α on heating below and near the β-transus using in situ neutron diffraction. The development and evolution of crystallographic texture during the α→β→α phase transformation was determined. Annealing at a sub-transus temperature 1562K (850°C) shows similar α-phase and β-phase pole figures from room temperature up to 1562K (850°C), with a slight increase in the intensity of the β-phase pole figures, showing that the β-phase texture strengthens during heating. During cooling, the β→α transformation occurs very quickly and the initial alpha-texture obtained at room temperature is significantly weakened by the heat-treatment. Strengthening of the β-phase texture is observed on heating the sample from [1163K to 1253K (890°C to 980°C), respectively] and a Burgers relationship ((0002) α/(110) β and {11-20} α/{111} β) is seen with the α-phase texture at room temperature; but no evidence of variant selection was observed during α→β transformation. During the β→α phase transformation on cooling, the Burgers relationship holds. This indicates a texture memory effect due to the growth of the primary alpha phase present at high temperature

Measuring Wind Turbine Parameters Using Microcontroller as Data Acquisition

ABSTRACT: The energy extracted from wind with the help of wind turbines is used to produce electricity. Hundreds of wind turbines combine together to form wind farms. They are connected to electrical power transmission network. Wind power can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels as it is widely available. wind turbines are used for converting wind energy into useful form of energy. In this paper the various parameters of wind are measured and monitored by setting up a system. The parameters are pressure, current ,voltage and direction. The interface to pc is done using a microcontroller which is used as a data acquisition system and proteus design suite is used for simulation. The idea of using microcontroller as a data acquisition will be economic and more convenient for the user

The dark nature of GRB 051022 and its host galaxy

We present multiwavelength (X-ray/optical/near-infrared/millimetre) observations of GRB 051022 between 2.5 hours and ~1.15 yr after the event. It is the most intense gamma-ray burst (~ 10^-4 erg cm^-2) detected by HETE-2, with the exception of the nearby GRB 030329. Optical and near infrared observations did not detect the afterglow despite a strong afterglow at X-ray wavelengths. Millimetre observations at Plateau de Bure (PdB) detected a source and a flare, confirming the association of this event with a moderately bright (R = 21.5) galaxy. Spectroscopic observations of this galaxy show strong [O II], Hbeta and [O III] emission lines at a redshift of 0.809. The spectral energy distribution of the galaxy implies Av (rest frame) = 1.0 and a starburst occuring ~ 25 Myr ago, during which the star-forming-rate reached >= 25 Msun/yr. In conjunction with the spatial extent (~ 1'') it suggests a very luminous (Mv = - 21.8) blue compact galaxy, for which we also find with Z Zsun. The X-ray spectrum shows evidence of considerable absorption by neutral gas with NH, X-ray = 3.47(+0.48/-0.47) x 10^22 cm^-2 (rest frame). Absorption by dust in the host galaxy at z = 0.809 certainly cannot account for the non-detection of the optical afterglow, unless the dust-to-gas ratio is quite different than that seen in our Galaxy (i.e. large dust grains). It is likely that the afterglow of the dark GRB 051022 was extinguished along the line of sight by an obscured, dense star forming region in a molecular cloud within the parent host galaxy. This galaxy is different from most GRB hosts being brighter than L* by a factor of 3. We have also derived a SFR ~ 50 Msun/yr and predict that this host galaxy will be detected at sub-mm wavelengths.Comment: 7 Pages, 7 figures. Accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic

An Integrated Modeling Approach for Predicting Process Maps of Residual Stress and Distortion in a Laser Weld: A Combined CFD–FE Methodology

Laser welding has become an important joining methodology within a number of industries for the structural joining of metallic parts. It offers a high power density welding capability which is desirable for deep weld sections, but is equally suited to performing thinner welded joints with sensible amendments to key process variables. However, as with any welding process, the introduction of severe thermal gradients at the weld line will inevitably lead to process-induced residual stress formation and distortions. Finite element (FE) predictions for weld simulation have been made within academia and industrial research for a number of years, although given the fluid nature of the molten weld pool, FE methodologies have limited capabilities. An improvement upon this established method would be to incorporate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model formulation prior to the FE model, to predict the weld pool shape and fluid flow, such that details can be fed into FE from CFD as a starting condition. The key outputs of residual stress and distortions predicted by the FE model can then be monitored against the process variables input to the model. Further, a link between the thermal results and the microstructural properties is of interest. Therefore, an empirical relationship between lamellar spacing and the cooling rate was developed and used to make predictions about the lamellar spacing for welds of different process parameters. Processing parameter combinations that lead to regions of high residual stress formation and high distortion have been determined, and the impact of processing parameters upon the predicted lamellar spacing has been presented

Predicting Rice Yield Under Salinity Stress Using K/Na Ratio Variable in Plant Tissue

Estimation of yield reduction in crop caused by the salinity stress is mostly based on variations of soil electrical conductivity and the severity of water stress. Crop response curves to salinity were developed without considering ion toxicity and nutritional imbalance in the plant. The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of using the ratio of the concentration of potassium by sodium in rice leaf (leaf-K/Na) to predict yield under the salinity stress. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield under fresh and saline condition and the leaf-K/Na related database was created. Data were collected from consecutive three seasons of a field experiment in the Africa Rice Center experimental farm in Senegal (16° 11ʹ N, 16° 15ʹW). We studied the relationship between the relative yield (Yr), a ratio of yield under the salinity stress to the potential yield and the leaf-K/Na (x). Furthermore, we did regression analyses and F-test to determine the best fitting function. Results indicate that the exponential function [i.e. Yr = 100 exp (-b x)] was the best fitting model with the lowest root mean square error (9.683) and the highest R2 value (0.90). Example applications on independent data from published papers showed relatively good predictions, suggesting that the model can be used to predict rice yield in saline soils